Welcome Day: Mayor welcomes students to the municipal school system and symbolically hands out uniforms and school supplies.

Mayor Eduardo Paes participated, this Saturday (January 31st), in the Welcome Day, an activity to prepare for the start of the school year. In the morning, he visited the Pio X Technological Educational Gymnasium, in Tanque, Jacarepaguá, accompanied by the Municipal Secretary of Education, Renan Ferreirinha, and symbolically delivered uniforms and school supply kits to the more than 650,000 students enrolled in the municipal education network. The school year begins next Wednesday (February 4th).

 

"Rio's education system makes us very proud. It's the largest network in Brazil, with many schools and high quality. And obviously, for good education, you need good teachers, good conditions, good facilities, but the kids also need materials. The materials we provide, if you ask parents to buy them at stationery stores, we're talking about something around 250 or 300 reais. We know that's a lot of money for the vast majority of the population. Today is the day that this is being distributed to the entire city, to all the children of Rio who will begin their classes with dignity, with good conditions, with very nice and high-quality materials," said the mayor.

 

The Municipal Department of Education will distribute more than 650 school kits across the 1.557 schools in the network. Each student receives a t-shirt, shorts, and a pair of sneakers. In addition to the uniform, students receive a school supply kit consisting of notebooks, pencils, erasers, pens, sharpeners, colored pencils, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, rulers, set squares, gouache paint, paintbrushes, and modeling clay, as well as the RioEduca workbooks.

 

The municipal secretary of Education, Renan Ferreirinha, stated that the city is ready to guarantee students a high-quality education in the upcoming school year.

 

"Nowhere in the country is as prepared for the start of the school year as the city of Rio de Janeiro. What we want is for our students to have everything they need for a year of great learning and success. That's what families want too: for schools to have all the necessary support so that students can focus on studying," said Ferreirinha.

 

Tuane Ferreira, mother of 11-year-old twins Valentina and Enzo, students at Pio X, was pleased with the kit she received.

 

"The kit is very fancy. And they're starting the year with everything ready, with all the materials in order. The kit, the uniform, everything is well-made, of good quality. There won't be a lack of materials. The child is fully equipped for school," she rejoiced.

 

The Welcome Day aims to strengthen ties and align expectations between schools and students' guardians. In addition to this familiarization with the school environment, guardians receive guidance on the school year, monitoring school attendance, and the students' academic performance.

 

The return to school is a challenging journey that demands planning, with several stages occurring in sync within a specific schedule. Preparing for the first day of classes involves complex actions, from enrolling students to developing the pedagogical proposal, producing and delivering teaching materials, organizing school meals, and making adjustments to the infrastructure of educational institutions. This chain of activities aims to guarantee an efficient and welcoming educational experience for students.

 

Considering that the municipal education network is the largest in Latin America, the numbers involved in the back-to-school operation are impressive. The department invested approximately R$ 83 million in uniforms and school supplies. More than 4 million items will be distributed – including 1,25 million t-shirts, 600 shorts, and more than 600 pairs of sneakers. All enrolled students have full access to school uniforms, regardless of their physical characteristics.

 

 

Category:

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January 31, 2026

Appointments: academic year 2026 welcome day municipal education network Back to school